Bloombergâ€™s Daniel Akst calls the book infuriating, writing that the â€śplodding text oscillates maddeningly between equivocation and chutzpahâ€ť. Akst slams Greenspan for calling the financial crisis â€śalmost universally unanticipatedâ€ť, despite what Akst says were â€śa host of indicators that were pointing to troubleâ€ť. Akst is frustrated that despite the bookâ€™s subtitle (â€śRisk, Human Nature, and the Future of Forecastingâ€ť), and the authorâ€™s self-professed expertise in economic forecasting, how Greenspan could have not seen danger ahead is barely explored. Furthermore, Greenspanâ€™s claimed concern for federal deficits is undercut, Akst writes, by his endorsement of both of President Bushâ€™s rounds of tax cuts.

The WaPoâ€™s Steven Pearlstein says Greenspanâ€™s effort at introspection simply yields a reiteration of his prior â€śunshakable faith in free markets, an antipathy toward market regulation, and a conviction that progressive taxes and social spending are to blame for slow growth, stagnant wages and exploding deficitsâ€ť.

Paul Krugman expands the criticism, pointing to â€śGreenspanâ€™s amazing track record since leaving office â€” a record of being wrong about everything, and learning nothing therefromâ€ť. Greenspanâ€™s refusal to accept responsibility for his misjudgment makes him, in Krugmanâ€™s view, not just a â€śbad economist… heâ€™s being a bad personâ€ť.

Larry Summers is disappointed that Greenspan hasn’t changed his anti-Keynesian views, but lavishes (projects?) praise on the intellect of a man he had the “privilege to work closely with”. Summers writes that “Greenspanâ€™s range, vision and boldness is especially important at a time like the present, when Washington is preoccupied with the political and petty”.

The NYTâ€™s Binyamin Appelbaum thinks Greenspan has found a kernel of an interesting idea when he discusses the economic consequences of human irrationality. But Appelbaum laments that Greenspan dwells on this topic for just a single chapter and instead spends most of the book retreading old, largely discredited ideas like tax cuts to spur business investment. — Ben Walsh

On to todayâ€™s links:

PivotsMagnetar goes long a small Ohio town, while shorting its tax base – Bloomberg